Singita Sabi Sand launches premier wine boutique
Friday, 8 August, 2008
Fivestar PR
South Africa's premier safari brand Singita, recent winner of Travel + Leisure's
Best Hotel in the World (2008) award, has raised the bar once again
with the opening of "The Singita Premier Wine Boutique" on site at
Singita in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Recognised as one of the
country's most influential buyers of wine, Singita's extensive cellar
showcases a premium selection of wines, including some of South
Africa's most sought-after private reserves and limited release wines.
With a wine list that encompasses approximately 200 labels, wine has always been a key ingredient of the unique Singita experience. In 2006 and 2007 the Singita wine list received an Award of Excellence, the top Diners Club Wine List accolade.
The newly opened "Premier Wine Boutique" is an extension of the Singita retail experience, and is centrally situated adjacent to "The Singita Shop", the property's acclaimed shopping and gallery experience between Singita Ebony and Singita Boulders Lodges. It offers a custom-designed boutique and an ideal environment for wine conversation and interaction with Singita's team of sommeliers. It also provides guests with the opportunity to browse through the Singita wine collection to assist them in making their personal wine selections as further enhancement to their lodge dining experience. A selection of excellent food and wine books, including those published by WOSA (Wines of SA) are also available to assist guests with food and wine pairing choices.
Here guests may also use the services of Singita Premier Wine Direct to purchase wines from the Singita collection that include sought-after Exclusive Release, Limited Single Vineyard and Rare Auction Wines, to either take along specially packaged as "chosen luggage" or to make up unique consignments that will be freighted on their behalf.
Wine connoisseurs also revel in the opportunity to enjoy personalized wine tastings within the unique ambience of each lodge's own temperature-controlled cellar. Wine tastings are led by Singita's experienced sommeliers who are able to guide guests through a variety of wine styles, years and cultivars to sample those that may suit their taste.
The five individual South African Singita Lodge Cellars comprising 20,000 bottles, combined with the "on property" bulk facility at Singita Sabi Sand, is supplied by unbroken cold chain transport from Singita's two bulk maturation facilities that are based in the Cape Winelands.
François Rautenbach who heads up Singita Premier Wine Direct has embarked on a training program for those young Singita employees who are enthusiastic wine lovers. This sets out to develop the "next generation" of sommeliers for Africa, by providing educational assistance, personal mentoring, formal wine training and access to Africa's finest wine program.
More about Singita
Recognised internationally as providing "the best safari experience in Africa", the Singita product offering includes nine iconic, low-impact, high-end lodges in four destinations including the Kruger National Park and Sabi Sand in South Africa, as well as in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Multi-award winner of virtually every hotel and travel award both locally and globally, the focus of Singita is not only game viewing, cuisine, wine, high design and luxury, but also an uncompromising dedication to conservation and sustainability, which includes several significant community projects.
In July 2008 Singita scooped no less than three major international travel awards when it was named Best Hotel in the World, Best Small Hotel in the World and Best Hotel in Africa and the Middle East in the US Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2008.